Bringing Back 2007

Lou DeLuca is back, and although he says he doesn’t miss being a state senator, he sure seems to enjoy giving press conferences and blaming other people for his problems.

“I believe this was political from the first day on,” former state Senate Minority Leader Louis DeLuca, said Wednesday at a press conference in the Legislative Office Building.
[…]
DeLuca said he believes senate leaders convened a bipartisan committee to investigate him because they “did not want to hurt their own political ambitions.” (Stuart)

DeLuca, unsurprisingly, seems to be full of the same bluster and excuses as he was last year. Ah, old times. In the intervening year, it’s worth noting, the nice man who was going to help DeLuca rough up a relative, James Galante, has been sentenced to a nice long stay in jail for his illegal activities. DeLuca recently paid a $2,500 fine to settle a state ethics complaint regarding his dealings with Galante, which was one of his reasons for holding the press conference.

Chris Healy weighed in, bringing up the usual charge that Republicans are held to account for their ethics violations a lot more than are Democrats. One example:

Republican Party Chairman Chris Healy said Wednesday that he filed a complaint against state Rep. Charles “Don” Clemons, D-Bridgeport, 10-months ago for admitting to witnessing a bribe. Healy said he learned that Clemons witnessed a bribe based on federal court transcripts of former Sen. Ernie Newton’s court proceedings.

“Where is the justice?” Healy asked. In Connecticut, Justice only opens her eyes when they see a Republican in the room, he concluded. (Stuart)

So here’s the question: is Healy right? Would DeLuca have been kicked out of the senate had he been a Democrat? Or is this just an easy way of deflecting some of the blame?

Maybe it’s a little of both.

…If you want another fun trip down memory lane, you may want to go check out Capitol Watch, where Lou DeLuca’s grandson-in-law has resurfaced, as well.